Christmas Miracle
by Erin Elric
Summary: It's Christmas time, and since they have the bunker Dean feels they should decorate, and while at a Christmas store a run in with some mistletoe sets things into motion for him and Cas.


_A/N: This is an AU that takes place sometime in season 9_ , _with Cas living in the bunker_

A Christmas Miracle

For as long as he could remember Dean Winchester has always loved Christmas. He knew his brother didn't feel the same about the holiday. The eldest Winchester sighed as he looked around the Bunker. As far as Dean was concerned this old bunker was the closest thing they are going to have to a home. He knew what they needed to make it official.

"You know," Dean started causing Sam to look up from his laptop and Castiel to sit down his book. "We need some Christmas decorations."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Really Dean?"

"Come on, there's no hunts going on. It's about two weeks from Christmas. Plus," he looked over at Castiel. "Plus this is Cas's first Christmas."

Castiel looked up from his book. "Dean you do realize that I am older than Christmas?"

"Well… the first time you celebrated it as a human. Come on guys we can get a nice tree put it here in the library and decorate it like a family. Neither one of you has ever put up a tree before so it'll be fun." Dean said smiling

Sam looked over at the ex-angel. "Well Cas do you want to put up a Christmas tree?"

Castiel gave a small smile. "You know I've always been interested in human traditions. I'd like to participate in one first hand."

Dean jumped up smiling. "Awesome! Come on there's a little Christmas village near by let's get our stuff from there."

Sam chuckled as he shut down his laptop. "I think you just wanted to go to the Christmas village."

"Heck ya." Dean said

The three of them headed to the Christmas Village. It was a decent sized place with a gift shop, a store dedicated to decorations, an ice skating rink, and usually kid stuff like Santa and elves. There was a large Christmas tree in the middle of the village.

"Why do humans spend so much effort on the holidays?" Castiel asked as he looked around the village

"Because they want people to spend their money on crap they don't need." Sam said

"Such a cynic." Dean responded

"Let's just get decorations for the tree and go." Sam said as he walked into the decoration shop

They had picked out a tree already all they needed was decorations.

Dean started walking into the decorations store.

"Hey Dean," Castiel started

"Yeah?" Dean asked. He stopped to talk to the ex-angel

"How are we going to get that tree down in the bunker?" He asked tilting his head slightly

Dean smiled at him. He would never admit it out loud but Cas's little head tilt was kind of cute. It reminded him of a dog. "Well since there is tree of us I think we can get it. Though it might be hard but I think we can manage."

"Guys," Sam started

The two looked at him and he was pointing up above them.

Dean looked up to see mistletoe. "Shit." He muttered under his breath.

"What is that?" Castiel asked tilting his head again

"Mistletoe."

The ex-angel blinked. "What does that mean?"

Sam snickered. "You're supposed to kiss the person you're under the mistletoe with."

Castiel blinked again then looked at Dean. He felt a blush creep up on his face. Kiss Dean? What? "I'm supposed to what?" he asked his voice sounded a little shaky

"Don't worry about it man. It's just some dumb tradition." Dean said resting his hand on Castiel's shoulder. He felt himself blush at seeing how flustered the angel was. He went to move out of the door when suddenly a young woman with a camera ran up to them.

"Sorry sirs. I'm Cindy I work here at the village. We are having a contest this year for those caught under the mistletoe." She held her camera up smiling. "See all those that kiss enter to win," she pointed to a basket in the corner. "This basket, with a couples robes, mugs, cocoa, a trip to a spa, and an all-expenses paid vacation." She held up the camera again. "We take pictures and put them on the wall and people vote for the ones they like for the winner."

"Listen a vacation sounds nice but," Dean started but was cut off.

Castiel reached up and grabbed Dean by his coat. He gave it no thought and placed his lips on his. He felt Dean flinch. Maybe he made a mistake. He thought Dean wanted a vacation why not enter the contest after all… what's a kiss anyways. He pulled away from him and Dean was looking at him. He couldn't make out his emotions but then again Castiel was still struggling to learn the finer points of human expressions.

"Holy crap!" Sam yelled from the corner of the room

Dean blinked a few times. He went to say something when the girl said. "Aww that's so cute. You two are going to be popular for sure, how long have you been together?"

"Oh uh we uh." Dean was unable to form a sentence

"We aren't a couple/" Castiel said flatly. "We are friends." He slung his arm around Dean bringing him closer. "Best friends; see we have a profound bond since we,"

Dean elbowed Castiel in the side to get him to stop talking. "Yeah lady, we are just friends."

She raised an eyebrow. "If my friend kissed me like that I'd go out with them. But that's just me." She walked towards the back of the store

Dean moved away from Castiel. "Let's uh get some decorations."

Castiel frowned. "Did I," he started but Dean kept walking. Oh man he messed up.

Sam looked at them. "The hell was that?"

"Nothing," Dean started. He rushed over to the light section his face still red.

Castiel sighed. "Sam I think I angered Dean." He put his hands in his pockets and looked down. He reminded Sam of a dog that just got kicked.

"No he isn't angry." Sam said. Or at least he didn't think so. He gestured to the decorations part of the store to get him away from Dean.

"I just thought maybe we could win a vacation and…" Castiel frowned feeling flustered. He bit his lip frustration almost overwhelmed him. "I got caught in the moment."

Sam chuckled as he picked up a large box of ornaments. "I'd say I mean you practically French kissed him." He held up the ornaments. "What do you think of these?"

Castiel shook his head. "I just did what I felt was right." He sighed, "Those ornaments are okay. You should ask Dean about it I'm not sure what exactly makes them good or not."

Sam raised an eye brow. "You did what you thought was right? What do you mean by that?" The youngest Winchester noticed Castiel began to look more flustered and the blush grew stronger on his face. "Cas," he started

Castiel picked up another box of ornaments. "These are cars; I think Dean would like these as well." Ignoring Sam

"Cas," Sam started again. He looked around making sure no one was around and whispered. "Do you… do you have feelings for Dean?"

The ex-angel looked around. "I don't… I think there is something wrong my heart rate increased and I feel so warm I must be ill."

Sam shook his head. "No, no you're embarrassed." He looked around again worried that Dean would suddenly appear. "Did you… feel anything when you kissed him?" He wondered how to phrase the question. Castiel was still learning human communication and he wondered how much he understood.

Castiel frowned and shook his head. "Okay Sam," He whispered but it almost sounded like a growl. "I have feelings for your brother."

It was like a light bulb went off in Sam's head. Everything started to make sense. The angel was clearly fond of Dean. Anytime Dean called or prayed to him he appeared. Sam's mouth almost dropped open. "Oh man I knew it… or at least I had thought so."

Castiel shook his head. "He's soul was… it was the most beautiful soul I have seen." Embarrassed again he looked at Sam. "Is it, that obvious?"

Sam smirked at the ex-angel's embarrassment. "A little."

"Hey where are you two?" Dean called

"We are over here." Sam called back. He held up the two sets of ornaments. "Look what we found."

"Awesome." Dean said as he nodded at the ornaments.

The three of them went to the check out. The cashier was the woman who took their picture. "Hey boys." She rang everything up. She held up a piece of paper. "Next weekend we are having an event. The winner will be announced at the party." She slipped the paper in their bag. "Hope you two win." She said with a smile

The three of them returned to the Bunker and got the tree up. After they got done Dean looked down at the ad for the Christmas events.

"So what's with this?" Dean asked picking up the paper. "An ice skating party, with free cocoa… hmmm says the people in the contest get in for free." Dean rolled his eyes. "Not a party without booze." He tossed the paper aside

Sam looked up at Castiel and noticed his disappointed expression. "Well Dean, you two did enter the contest."

Dean groaned. "Listen I don't need any of that stuff."

"You could use a new robe." Sam said with a chuckle

Dean rolled his eyes. "I have no interest in it. Its ice skating, its cold, there's no booze and it's probably all little kids or teenagers with nothing to do."

Castiel frowned and got up from he's chair. "I'm going to go read in silence." He said grabbing up his book and leaving

Dean waited until he left. "What's with him man? He's been a cranky since we got back."

Sam shook his head. "Dean… did you consider maybe Cas wants to go with you?"

The older brother rolled his eyes then took a drink from his beer. "Why? He thought I wanted the vacation and I don't. Besides some nice newlywed couple will probably win and they should."

"Dean," Sam started. "Be nice to Cas okay."

Dean frowned. "I am being nice to Cas. I'm saving him from awkward embarrassment."

Sam licked his lips. Time for a new approach, "Cas has never been ice skating before, he might enjoy it. Plus you two get in for free. And you were saying you wanted him to experience more human things."

Dean drank more of his beer. "Well you're right Sammy." He sat down his beer. "Guess me and him can just bundle up like old friends and go skating. Maybe we'll hold hands and sing let it go."

Sam glared at him. "Jackass." Sam left him alone with his beer

Dean sat there thinking. Visions of the kiss flashed before him. Shit. He would never admit it out loud but he really enjoyed that kiss. He laid a finger on his lips and thought about it. Goosebumps went across his skin. Oh man how did this happen to him? Falling for the fallen ex-angel of all things, he had found him to be attractive the first time he seen him in that barn. He always told himself he couldn't love an angel, the angel couldn't love him back. Or did Cas? He frowned at the beer as if it was at fault. Now he was wondering after all there was a lot of passion in that kiss. Oh damn. He's beer was empty now. Oh hell what could it hurt? He could maybe take Cas to the party maybe they will have fun.

Dean decided to go tell Cas the good news. He walked to his room and lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in." Castiel called from the other side of door

Dean walked in the room. "So I got to thinking about the party." Dean gave a soft sigh before continuing. "If you want we can go to the ice skating party. I'll be willing to go with you and I'll keep the bitching to a minimum."

Dean could have sworn that he seen Cas's eyes light up. He smiled faintly and asked, "Really? You want to go?"

Dean nodded. "If it makes you happy Cas I'll go to the party with no booze and probably teenagers."

"Thanks Dean." Castiel smiled again

Dean nodded. "Alright then, goodnight buddy."

"Goodnight Dean." He said as Dean walked out of his room. He smiled to himself he was looking forward to the party now.

The day of the party arrived. The two of them were getting ready for the party. Castiel frowned at the scarf that Dean kept trying to wrap around him.

"Is this necessary?" he asked. He felt like he was being smothered by the scarf

"Yes, its cold out there and you don't need to catch a cold. Remember you're human now." Dean said. He got the scarf adjusted and put on his gloves. "Meet me at the car okay." He said since Castiel was still getting ready

Sam looked over at Castiel once he was sure that Dean left the area. "So are you going to tell him today?"

Castiel blushed and pulled on his scarf. "I'm… uh going to try." He felt blush creep up on his face.

Sam patted him on the shoulder. "Well good luck and don't freeze."

"Thanks."

Dean and Castiel made it to the Christmas village. It looked different at night with all the Christmas lights on.

"Wow their set up is pretty." Dean said as he pulled the car into a parking spot.

The two of them headed to the ice rink. Dean noticed Castiel was staring at the lights. He couldn't help but smile noticing how the lights brightened up his already bright blue eyes.

"In all my life I never noticed how beautiful Christmas lights were." He smiled warmly. "Being human has allowed me to appreciate things that I haven't been able to before."

Dean smiled. He looked around as they got near the ice rink. Most of the people there were teenagers or families.

They got their skates. As they were putting it on Castiel asked.

"Have you ever ice skated before?"

Dean chuckled. "Once when I was a teenager," He finished tying his boots and looked down at them. "I busted my ass a lot."

Castiel chuckled. "So this is going to go well then?"

Dean laughed. "We probably are."

The two of them worked their way to the ice. Dean hoped they wouldn't embarrass themselves too bad. He skated a few feet. Castiel was following behind him and Dean heard a yelp and he turned to see Cas had fallen. "Already Cas we just started." He skated over to him and tried to help him up.

"Sorry I didn't think it was that slick."

Dean laughed. "It's ice man it's slick." He grabbed his hand and pulled him up and as soon as Castiel was standing Dean felt himself slip. "Whoa!" and with that Dean was on the ice. "Oh man we are going to end up on YouTube."

Castiel helped him off the ice. "Listen if you don't want to we can stop."

Dean shook his head as he stood up. "No man let's keep going."

After a few unsteady starts they finally got the hang of it. The two of them completed a couple of laps and didn't fall.

"Are you having fun?" Dean asked

Castiel smiled and nodded. "Yes this is a lot of fun." He had been wondering since he got in the car how was he going to tell Dean how he felt. Castiel began to wonder if it was a good time to do it. What if Dean didn't feel the same? Sam assured him that Dean did, pointing out how the older Winchester was acting differently around him since the mistletoe incident. But still he wasn't sure. He'd hate to damage their friendship.

"One more lap in and let's get some cocoa, okay?"

Castiel nodded.

The two of them almost made it all around the rink. Castiel was still thinking. Could he really and should he really do this. He pondered and without noticing he got too close to Dean bumping into him.

"Whoa shit!" Dean yelled losing his balance and the two hit the ground together.

Castiel's scarf had fallen over his face leaving only a small hole for one eye. He thought for sure Dean would be mad at him. First he got too close then he made them both fall.

Dean turned to look at him trying to get himself out of an awkward position. "Are you okay?" he asked then finally seen Castiel's scarf covered face. Dean started to laugh. It struck him as funny. "Dude your scarf it's all messed up." He reached over to try to fix it still laughing.

When Dean started to laugh Castiel couldn't help himself he started laughing too. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to start laughing too."

"Its fine." He got the ex-angel's scarf fixed. He began to help him up they were both still laughing. Dean lost his balance and almost fell.

Castiel grabbed him which caused them both to fall. This for some reason made them both laugh harder.

Dean shook his head. "I think we need to get off this ice, folks is staring." He chuckled. He laid his hand on Castiel's hand.

Castiel looked down at his hand and Dean's hand touching. He looked up at the green eyed man. "I love you." He blurted out.

Dean blinked a few times.

Castiel realized what he said and his mouth hung open. He couldn't believe he just said it out loud like that. "Uh I'm sorry it just slipped."

Dean nodded then helped Castiel off the ice. "Let's get some cocoa okay."

Castiel felt his face flush. Oh man he messed up he really did. There was no way to take back the words now. He didn't realize that Dean was handing him a cup of cocoa. "T-thanks." He said

The two of them headed over to a bench nearby. There was an announcement the winner would be called soon.

Castiel bit his lip in thought. Cocoa warmed his hands through his gloves. "Dean I'm sorry it just slipped and I uh."

Dean smiled after he sipped his cocoa. "You know," he started interrupting the ex-angel. "They had the photos up there near the snack shack. That chick at the store was right…" He looked over at Castiel trying to catch he's eyes. "We look like a couple."

Castiel tried to take a sip of his cocoa the warmth almost burning his throat. "D, do we?"

Dean leaned over and placed his lips on Castiel's. He could taste the hint of chocolate on his lips. He pulled away breaking the kiss. "I gave it a lot of thinking after you know the mistletoe thing and uh… I love you too." He smiled warmly. "You've always been there for me even when I was a huge jerk to you, you always come to me when I call for you, and you're a pretty good guy."

Castiel smiled. "You're the most beautiful soul I have seen." He took his hand. "I am glad that I was picked to pull you out of hell. You have helped me in ways that I cannot even begin to explain." He leaned over and captured another kiss. He was going to break away when Dean reached up and pulled him closer to him and deepen the kiss.

The two of them made it back to the bunker. Sam was sitting there waiting for them.

"Hey guys." He said looking up from his laptop. "Did you guys win?"

Dean shook his head. "No some sweet old lady and her grandchildren won. I'm getting a beer want one?"

"Yes," Castiel said and Dean left to the kitchen

"Well?" Sam asked

Castiel let out a breath he wasn't away he was holding. "I told him."

Sam smiled. "Good job how did it go?"

Castiel blushed and smiled. "We may not have won the prize but I feel like we won."

Sam chuckled and about that time Dean came back in the room with the beer. "So I hear it was a Christmas miracle." Sam said with a smile

Dean rolled his eyes and handed Castiel his beer and gave him a brief kiss. "Just remember Sammy you have to live with it now."


End file.
